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Special Message from Diane Flynn Keith

October 25th, 2009

Special Message from Diane Flynn Keith

Hi,

I have exciting news! The new, second edition of my book, “Carschooling: Over 350 Entertaining Games and Activities To Turn Travel Time Into Learning Time” is now available at my completely revised and updated website, http://www.Carschooling.com!

To complement the new edition of the “Carschooling” book and website, I have created a brand new version of the “Carschooling Ezine.”

Today, October 25th, is the launch date for the FIRST ISSUE that includes a free, monthly “Carschooling Calendar” for November – so you can learn history on the go! Plus it contains recommendations for terrific resources to help you turn your kids into “Road Scholars”!

To subscribe, go to http://www.Carschooling.com and enter your name and email address in the blue box form at the top, right corner of the page.

IMPORTANT: Even if you have subscribed in the past, you must re-subscribe to get the new version of the “Carschooling Ezine.”

Those who subscribe, will be rewarded with my free, handy-dandy “Carschooling Games & Activity Chart” with backseat brain-boosters that will bring miles of smiles to everyone in your car! Print it out and tuck it into the glove compartment for instant access to road trip learning fun!

Don’t miss the first issue of the “Carschooling Ezine” that will be published later today.

AND GET YOUR COPY OF MY BOOK,”CARSCHOOLING” TO MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MILE. Just visit: http://www.Carschooling.com

Diane

Diane Flynn Keith, Author of Carschooling

Publisher of ClickSchooling

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Are You The Parent of a Preschooler? You’ll Love Universal Preschool’s Learning Calendar! It’s chock-full of fun, easy activities & time-saving resources for learning with little ones all year long! Get your copy today… http://www.homefires.com/store/uplearning.asp

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Posted in Art, Electives, Foreign Language, Language Arts, Math, Music, Science, Social Sciences

ClickSchooling Bonus: FREE Content-Rich Learning K-12

October 23rd, 2009

Hi,

I know ClickSchooling is supposed to be on vacation, but I just stumbled across a website that I thought you would LOVE to know about NOW – because it can save you loads of time and money when it comes to preparing your course of study for 2009-2010.

PLUS, it’s got great content that will be useful to you forever – regardless of your homeschool or unschool methodology. Really.

Recommended Website:
http://www.thinkfinity.org

FREE lessons, podcasts, activities, links to online resources, etc., for all grade levels. A project of Verizon in association with tons of education and research organizations.

I was tempted to write a full review, but I AM on vacation. :) Trust me, go there and check it out.

Oh, and don’t forget that while I’m taking this ClickSchooling break through September 7th you can always access the ClickSchooling archives here: http://www.homefires.com/clickschool/archive.asp

Plus if you become my friend on Facebook, I post links to “oldies but goodies” from the ClickSchooling archives regularly – even while I’m on vacation. http://www.facebook.com/clickschooling

One more thing…I am moving foward with my plans to make this free list private and take it off of Yahoo – and I’ll be sending more info about that in the days to come.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled break…

Diane

Copyright 2009, Diane Flynn Keith, All Rights Reserved. Publication or distribution in any medium (including blogs, newsletters, ezines, websites, or email lists) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

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Are You The Parent of a Preschooler? You’ll Love Universal Preschool’s Learning Calendar! It’s chock-full of fun, easy activities & time-saving resources for learning with little ones all year long! Get your copy today… http://www.homefires.com/store/uplearning.asp

DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website – fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives at: http://www.homefires.com/clickschool/archive.asp

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Posted in Art, Foreign Language, Language Arts, Math, Other, Science, Social Sciences

Learn Italian Online for Free!

April 5th, 2008

Recommended Website:
BBC Lanuages: Italian Steps

Age: All (The site looks to be designed with older/adult students in mind. However, when you learn a foreign language you are essentially like a very young child, learning a language for the first time. So, while you may need to be a competent reader to use this site, some of the information, activities, etc., can be used for all ages and ability levels with help from mom or dad.)

This website was discovered by ClickScholar MaryAnna Cashmore. She wrote the following review:

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If, like one of mine, your child has suddenly expressed an interest in learning (ulp!) Italian, here is a six-week course at the suggested pace of five lessons per week. (Long enough to find out whether your child will stick to the program or whether this is just a passing fancy.) Learn online for free at your own pace, or sign up for optional free daily email reminders. There’s also a free cumulative quiz at the end.

Each lesson includes:

  • Slideshow: With audio spoken words/phrases as they are actually used by native speakers; you can turn captions on/off in both English and Italian.
  • Key Words: A list of vocabulary words you can study.
  • Guess the Words: An interactive word matching game.
  • Build Sentences: A short lesson with a fill-in-the-blanks quiz at the end.
  • Speak and Write: You get to say and write your end of the conversation, then check your work.
  • Read the Fact File: Facts and tips about Italian culture, with links for further enrichment/study. (One of the enrichment links from lesson one leads to further exploration of hand gestures. Speak Italian with your hands. Why not? *shrug* :)

Great stuff! :)

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After visiting the website, I thoroughly agree with MaryAnna. This is “Great stuff.”

Enjoy!

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DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website – fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives at: http://www.homefires.com/clickschool/archive.asp.

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Posted in Foreign Language

FREE Games and Songs in Spanish, French, German, and More!

January 5th, 2008

Recommended Website:
Hello-World

ClickSchooling list member Annette Hall recommended Hello-World.com that has free online games, songs and activities for children in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, and Indonesian. When you get to the site you will see an icon menu for each language. Click on any one and a new page opens with a menu that allows you to learn:

  • The Alphabet
  • Letters
  • Numbers
  • Colors
  • Clothes
  • The Calendar
  • The Family
  • Common Descriptions
  • Verbs
  • Time
  • Weather
  • and much more!

Plus, you can learn conversational skills and play games or sing songs to reinforce and practice learning the language of your choice. There is a great deal of content at this site. Not every activity is clearly explained, so expect to spend a little time exploring in order to figure it out. If you ever have a problem — look at the “English” version for assistance. :)

There is a free “Teachers’ Grade Book” available that provides ideas for instruction, but you must register and then wait up to 7 days or so for approval and a password. I didn’t take the time to do that and therefore can’t comment on the content. :)

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Posted in Foreign Language

How To Learn Any Foreign Language

November 17th, 2007

Recommended Website:
How To Learn Any Language

This website was recommended by ClickSchooler extraordinaire, MaryAnna. She wrote:

“I know I’ve recommended plenty of sites in the past, but this one is really a goodie! It offers excellent advice for the independent language learner.
The site owner is an experienced polyglot and his website is full of information from general advice about choosing and learning a language to more detailed info about each language, its difficulty, related languages,
advantages and disadvantages to learning it, and even links to online learning resources for each language. As an experienced language learner myself, I have to say this guy is really on track. Five stars!”

She’s right! You’d better bookmark it now, because there is no way you can see all of the resources provided here on one visit. When you get to the site
read the introduction and click on the embedded links to further information, or use the drop-down menu at the top of your screen, or the stationery menu on the left to explore the site. You will find suggestions and activities for learning all of the following languages:

  • Arabic
  • Cantonese
  • Czech
  • English
  • Esperanto
  • Finnish
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Hungarian
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Mandarin
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Serbo-Croatian
  • Slovak
  • Spanish
  • Thai
  • Turkish

Use the handy Language Profile page to get a quick overview of the difficulty and popularity of the language.

Under the basic “Guide” on this site, don’t miss the article on “How To Raise Polyglot Kids.” It includes general advice along with suggestions for
inexpensive as well as costlier resources you can use. You’ll also find information and advice on how to get the most out of language camps and immersion programs. This site even provides free downloadable software so
you can make your own foreign language flash cards!

Note: On some of the pages at the site, the Google ads appear at the top of the page. It can give the illusion that there is nothing else on the page. You have to scroll down the page below the Google ads to find the text and resources. It’s a minor inconvenience. :)

This site is a fantastic resource that foreign language learners will refer to again and again.

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Posted in Foreign Language, Virtual Field Trip

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Learn To Speak Chinese!

October 27th, 2007

Recommended Website:
Ting — Chinese English Center

Age Range: Varied (There are aspects of this site that will appeal to
Chinese language learners of all ages. Non-readers will need assistance, and
as always, parents should preview the site to determine suitability of
content.)

ClickSchooler MaryAnna recommended today’s website that offers an
interactive Chinese dictionary of words and phrases that is perfect for
those who want to learn Chinese or improve upon their current skills. She
wrote:

“I found a totally cool website for people who want to learn Chinese. Type
in any word or phrase to search the database. If it’s in the online
dictionary, you will see how it’s written, how it’s pronounced, and you can
choose a native speaker (by name) and hear that person saying the word or
phrase or long sentence. It’s very clear, and fun. A neat feature of the
dictionary is that if you select a word, such as “Cat,” and then select
option 5 (longer passages), you will see *all* of the information and
language samples available for that word, from single-word translation to
short phrases to sentences to longer passages and beyond.

There are also stories in English and Chinese (bilingual) and other nice
features. For example, a fully interactive family tree. You can toggle
between names, ages & genders, and occupations, or familial relationships
between all family members and “me” — select your place in the family tree
and see how all the familial relationships change with respect to you.

You can also create a personal account on the site and create your own
flashcard preferences etc., so that you can personalize your web browsing
experience to maximize language learning across many repeat visits.”

When you get to the site you will see a menu on the left side of your
screen. Click to open the items that include:

  • Read Me — Complete instructions for using this site, including how to use
    the Chinese characters (letters).
  • Games — Reinforce Chinese language skills while playing concentration,
    doing math, and exploring maps.
  • Chinese Experience — See pictures and learn about Beijing, the Great Wall,
    Xian, and Shanghai. Explore Chinese art such as bronzes, calligraphy,
    painting, and Ming Dynasty artifacts.

This is a great way to introduce the Chinese language to your children,
and/or practice your Chinese language skills.

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Posted in Foreign Language

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